Good ID awards digital identity efforts of Kenya’s Lawyers Hub, ELSAM and Haki na Sheria

The winners of the Good ID Awards for 2020 have been announced in a virtual event that took place on November 18.

The winners, who work in diverse areas of the digital identity domain, have been recognized for their dedicated, progressive and impactful efforts toward improving digital identity for all.

There is a winner and runner-up for each of the award categories which include Privacy, Security, and Accountability.

Linda Bonyo, Chief Executive Officer of The Lawyers Hub, a Kenyan legal tech policy advocacy organization, was voted winner in the Privacy category, with Privacy International picked as runner-up. Bonyo was rewarded for her works in promoting Good ID initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa through comprehensive policy engagement, advocacy and strategic litigation.

In the Security category Indonesia-based policy research and advocacy institute ELSAM was voted winner. ELSAM, has since its creation in 1993, has conducted many studies and research, as well as policy advocacy to ensure the integration of human rights in policies, including policy related information and communication technology. Tim Bouma, a Senior Advisor on Digital Identity in the Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) within the Government of Canada, was picked as the runner-up here.

For the Accountability category, the winner is Yussuf Bashir, Executive Director and Founder of Haki na Sheria Initiative, a human rights organization working in northern Kenya, while his runner-up is Grace Mutung’u, a Research Fellow at CIPIT, the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology law. Mutung’u carries out research on ICT policy in Kenya and is said to be concerned that African countries are not doing digital ID inclusively or sustainably.

Organizers of the awards said the 2020 Good ID Community Champions were selected after votes from more than 2,500 members of the public, and thanked all those who voted.

Before the nominations were put to public vote, a committee of experts and the Editorial Board of Good ID had made the selection from a long list of entries, the organization said.

The #GoodID Awards are a platform to celebrate and showcase the community’s impressive work to make digital identity better for everyone.

Article Topics

awards  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital identity  |  Good ID  |  Omidyar Network  |  privacy